Phonograph



L. z. LA FOREST PHONOGBAPH Aug. 5; 1941.

Filed July 8, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Louzs Z. ZA''es' ORNEYPatented Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ,PHONOGRAPH Louis Z'.La ForeshMorris Plains, N. J., assignoto Thomas A. Edison,In'corporated, West Orange, N. J., a corporation of* New JerseyApplication July 8, 1939, Serial No. 283387 '11 Claims.

This invention relates to phonographs; and more particularly tocommercial phonographs or dictating machines. The invention isespecially concerned with improved means and'- method for mounting arecord on, and removing a record from, the machine, and with furthermeans for performing automatic Operations on the machine as an incidentor 'record mounting and record removal.

Dictatin'g machines commonly comprise a mandrel rotatably supported aton'e end and free at the other to receive a cylindrical record. Thismaridrel is provided with a record holding' and ejecting mechanism whichmay b'e conveniently controlled by a manipulatable member at the freeend of the mandrel. Movable along the mandrel between start and terminalpositions which positions may be respectively at the supported and free'ends of the mandrel-is a carriage for supporting a sound translatingdevice. This device is placeable into and out of operative relationshipwith respect tothe record and, during the operation of the machine, ismoved steadily along the record by a feeding of the carriage in thedirection towards it's terminal position.

Records, such as are customarily used with dictating machines, are madeof wax-like material and provided with a highly polished surface adaptedto receive a recordation in the form of a progressive modulated groove.Because of the wa'X-like character of the record material the polishedsurface of the record is easily scratch'ed or' marred through handling,as by contact of the record with foreign objects or parts of themachine. S'uch possible damage to the records is avoided during recordstorage by sto-ring the records in individual protective casings orcartons, but during record mounting and record i'e'm'oval the record-sare cu'stomar'ily handled while out of their cartons, leaving therecords then unprotected and subject to possible da'rrage.

It is an object of my invention to render the process of record mountingand record removal more expeditious and yet free from risk of damage tothe record.

It is another object of rny invention to effect automatic perations onthe machine both as an incident to the mounting of a record on themachine and as an incident to the removal of a record from the machine,and yet without risk `of damage to the record.

It is another object of my invention to provide a protective casing fora record which is arranged so as to per-mit the record to be mounted onthe machine while it is within its casing and to permit the casing to beremoved from the record at the completion of record mounting.

Another object of my invention is to provide a protective casing whichis manipulatable to pick up a record mounted on the' mandrel withoutobstructing the 'control of the record-ejecting mechanism during thepicking-upoperation.

, It is another object ofmy invention to provide a container for arecord 1 which is adapted to form a protectivecasing for the record bothduring record storage and also during record mounting and recordremoval; I v

It is another object of my invention to provide a protective casing orcontainer 'having' improved means for releasably holding the recordtherein. v V

'It-is a feature' of 'my invention to cause the return of the carriageto start position by the impingent of the record casing on the carriageduring record mounting and also by the impingement of the casing on thecarriage during the manipulation of the casirg into position'toipickFigure 3 is a view of the open end of the record carton shown in Figures1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a view of the base 'of the carton above mentioned;

Figura 5 is a View of the base of a modified form of record carton; e

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the modified form of recordcarton, taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a. View of the open end of the modified form of recordcarton; and

Figure 8 is a side View of a portion of the modified form of recordcarton.

Reference being had to Figures 1 and 2 there will be seen a phonographcomprising a base plate having left and right vertical standards 2 and 3and an intermediate vertical standard 4.

Journalled in the intermediate' standard 4 is a sh'aft 5 carrying amandrel 6 for supporting a cylindrical record T. Carried by thestandards 2 and 3 and in parallel relation to the shaft 5 are cross rods8 and 9 on which there is slidably mounted a carriage n. This carriageis provided with an arm ll extending forwardly over the record andsupporting a sound translating device l2. The sound translating devicmay be of any suitable form for recording upon or reproducing from therecord, or both. A typical form of translating device, such as isillustrated in Figure 1, is shiftable from an inoperative condition intorespective operative conditions for recording 'and reproducing. Whenconditionecl for recording, the translating device is adapted to receivesound waves by way of a sound tube l3 on the translating device andimpart a movement undulating in accordance with those waves to arecorder stylus !4, and, when conditioned for reproducing, to createsound waves in accordance with an undulating movement imparted to areproducer stylus !5, as by the engagement of the reproducer stylus witha progressive modulated groove on the record 1. When the translatingdevice is in inoperative condition I each of the styli !4 and !5 aremaintained free of the record.

To operate the machine the mandrel 6 is rotated and the carriage I isconcurrently fed along the mandrel from left to right-as from start toterminal positions along the mandrelby a driving motor not hereinnecessary to show. The coupling of the motor to the mandrel is by way ofa clutch 19, partially shown in Figure 2, and of the motor to thec'arriage by way of a feed screw ll rotatably supported by the left andright standards 2 and 3 and geared to the mandrel shaft by a train ofgears !8. The coupling of the carriage to the feed screw is effected bymeans of a feed nut !9 mounted for movement into and out of engagementwith the feed screw 'as on a bracket pivoted to the carriage by a pivotrod 2I. Thus when the feed nut is in engagement with the feed screw arotation of the mandrel will cause the carriage to be fed steadily alongthe mandrel.

The means for controlling the engagement of the feed nut IS with thefeed screw IT, and for shifting the translating device betweeninoperative and operative conditions may comprise a control or shiftinglever 22 pivoted on the cross rod 8 within the carriage and extending upthrough an opening 23 in the top of the carriage. The control lever 22is provided, on a hub portion thereof, with a short downwardly extendingarm 24 carrying a cross pin 25 which cams with a pair of upper and lowerlifting arms 26 and 26' to control the translating device, and with aforwardly extending arm 21 of the bracket 20 to control the engagementof the feed nut with the feed screw. A detailed description of thecontrol of the translating device is not herein necessary to` be giVen,it being sufiicient to say that when both lifting arms 26 and 26' are intheir respective upward positions, as shown in Figure 1, the recorderand reproducer styli l4 and I 5 are each out of engagement with therecord to place the translating device in inoperativecondition; thatwhen both lifting arm 29 and 26' are in lower positions the recorderstylus !4 engages the record to place the translating device incondition for recording; and that when only the upper lifting arm 26 isin its upward position the reproducer stylus !5 engages the record toplace the translating device in condition for reproducing. The lever 22controls the lifting arms 26 and 26' so as to cause the translatingdevice to be placed into inoperative condition when the lever is in itscentral position shown in Figure 1, and so as to cause the translatingdevice to be placed in condition for recording and reproducing when thecontrol lever 22 is moved forwardly and rearwardly from its centralposition. Moreover, when the control lever 22 is in central position, toeffect the inoperative condition of the translating device, the feed nut19 is maintained out of engagement with the feed screw I'I by thecontact of the pin 25 with the arm 21; but when the control lever 22 ismoved either forwardly or rearwardly, to effect either the recording orreproducing conditions of the translating device, the pin 25 is movedfree of the arm 21 to permit the feed nut !9 to be moved into engagementwith the feed screw l'I in response to a biasing of the bracket 20 ascaused by a tension spring 28.

The mandrel 6 is provided with a record holding and ejecting mechanism,preferably of the type disclosed in Gramann Patent No. 2,010,717, issuedAugust 6, 1935, and entitled Phonograph." This mechanism may besufiiciently described in the present instance by the statement that itcomprises a disk member 29 slidable along the mandrel shaft at the leftend of the mandrel 6 and biased rightwardly by a spring 39. When arecord is placed on the mandrel the left end of the record impingesagainst a flange 29' of the disk member 29 to move the member 29leftwardly against its biasing. The record is held in mounted positionon the mandrel, against the biasing of the disk member 29, by theexpansion of a chuck 3! provided at the free end of the mandrel, thechuck being expanded as an incident to the leftward movement of the diskmember 29 such as is caused by the placing of the record into mountedposition relative to the mandrel. Thus, when a record is placed intomounted position relative to the mandrel the record becomes releasablyheld in such position. To remove a record from the machine the chuck 3|is contracted, this contraction of the chuck 31' being efiected byimparting an inward axial movement to a control member 32 provided atthe free end of the mandrel as shown in Figure 2`. When the chuck 31 iscontracted the record is released from the mandrel and also partiallyejected therefrom in response to the biasing of the disk member 29.

The above described structure and mechanism are common to phonographsheretofore manufactured and used, and form a part of the presentinvention only in so far as they are related to or combined with othermechanism hereinafter described.

In order to avoid possible damage to the record during the handlingthereof, I provide a protective casing or carton for containing therecord at all times except during the actual use of the record on themachine. Thus, in accordance with my invention, the record is bothmounted on and removed from the machine While within its carton, thecarton being removed from the record at the completion of recordmounting and being first placed over the record to pick the same up upona record removal. During manipulation of the record onto and from themachine the record is held within its carton; the carton is, however, soarranged as to permit it to be readily removed from the record, as atthe completion of record mounting, and to be readily passed over therecord to pick up the same, as at start of record removal, Moreover Withthis arrangement I may cause automatic Operations to be performed on themachine, by means of the carton, as an incident of record mounting andof record removal, without risk of damage to the record.

Reference being had to Figure 2, there will be seen a carton 33comprising an outer relatively thick cylinder 34 and an inner relativelythin cylinder35, each of which may be made of cardboard. The inner'cylinder extends from the open or left end of the carton throughoutsubstantially the length thereof and is covered with a relatively softcloth or flannel 36 which is glued to the cylinder. The base of thecarton is formed by inserting a disk 31 into the carton, as by a pressfit, curling an end portion 38 of the cylinder 34 inwardly against thedisk 31 and gluing the same to the disk, and then fitting a ferrule 39over the right end of the cylinder 34 to strengthen the carton and toaid in holding the parts in place. The ferrule 39 is provided with acentral opening 39' and the disk 31 with a central opening 40; throughthese openings thechuck 3l and control member 32 of the record holdingand ejecting mechanism may pass when the carton is placed over themandrel. At the left or open end of the carton the flannel 33 isextended to form a slack portion 4l and is then turned back and Wedgedbetween the inner and outer cylinders 34 and 35 by means of a metal ring42 which is pressed between the cylinders, the portion of the flannelbetween the cylinders and the ring 42 being then glued to firmly holdthe parts in place. In the slack portion 4! of the flannel 36 there ipro- Vided a closed rubber band 43 which caused the slack portion 4| tobe pulled radially inwardly to form an expansible opening 44. By thismeans a record is yieldably held in the carton with sufl'lcient force toprevent the record from being accidentally thrown out of the cartonduring handling. I-Iowever, by reason of the expansible character of theopening 44, a record may be readily inserted in the carton and likewisereadily removed therefrom.

To m ount a record on the mandrel 6 both the carton 33 and the recordare passed over the mandrel by way of the free end thereof, the chuck 3!and control member 32 passing through the opening 46 in the base of thecarton, When the record reaches a fully mounted position relative to themandrel, the chuck 3| expands to hold the record on the mandrel. Thecarton 33 is then removed from the record, the opening 44 being expandedby the record to permit the record to pass therethrough. To remove arecord from the mandrel the carton 33 is first passed over the recorduntil the record is fully contained therein, the control member 32 ismanipulatedto release the record from the mondrel, and then the cartonis removed from the machine. As the carton is so removed it picks up therecord and carries it therewith, the record being retained in the cartonby the inwardly extending slack portion 4| of the flannel 36.

With the above arrangement I may conveniently cause the carriage to beautomatically returned to start position as an incident either of recordmounting or of record removal and without risk of damage to the record.This may be simply done by the provision of a bracket 45 which isadjustably Secured to the carriage by a screw and slot connection 46 andwhich is provided with a downwardly extending arm 45' which extends intothe path of the passing of the carton 33 over the mandrel. Thus if thecarriage is out of start position when a 'carton is passed over themandrel, either t'o efiect a record mounting or to pick up a mountedrecord as upon a record removal, the carton will be impinged upon thebracket to thereby automatically return the carriage to start position.

In Figure's 5, 6, 7 and 8 there is shown a modified form of carton 41comprising outer and inner cylinders 34 and 35, and a flannel 36 whichcovers the inner cylinder 35, the same as in the carton 33. However, theopen and base ends of the carton 41 are modified from those of thecarton 33. At the open end of the carton the end portion of the flannel36 is now turned back tightly about the outer edge of the inner cylinder35 and is retained between the cylinders 34 and 35 and held in place bygluing. At the base end of the carton there is provided a ferrule 48Secured to the carton, as by crimping, and having a flat disk 49provided with a central opening 49', such as the opening 40 in thecarton 33. Slidably and pivotally connected to the disk 49 is a disk 50having also a central opening 5! of a diameter of the opening 40 abovereferred to and suitably provided with a bead 52 along the peripherythereof which fits the ferrule 48. The connection of the disk 50 to thedisk 49 is effected by means of the screws '53, 54 and which passrespectively through circumferential slots 53', 54' and 55' in the disk'50 and through respective spacers, such as the spacers 54" and 55" for'the screws 54 and 55, to thread into the disk 49. By this means thedisk 50 is permitted to turn relative to the disk 45 through a limitedangular distance. Extending lengthwise of the carton on opposite sidesthereof between the cylinders 34 and 35 are rods 56 and 51. At the baseof the carton these rods pass through the disk 49 to terminate intoinwardly extending cranks 56' and 51' which respectively pass throughradially extending slots 58 and 59 provided in the disk 50. At the openend of the carton the rods 56 and '51 terminate in right-angle endportions or obstructing arms 56" and 51".

In the arrangenent just described the rods 56 and 51 are caused to beturned about their longitudinal axes upon turning the disk 50 relativeto the disk 49, this turning being eected by the engagement of thecranks 56' and 51' with the respective slots 58 and 53. When the disk 50is turned in clockwise direction, as the carton is viewed from the basethereof, the rods 56 and 51 are turned to bring their respectiveobstructing arms 56" and 51" into substantially circumferentiallyextending positions wherein the arms respectively lie in recesses 60 and6! provided by cutting away portions of the outer edge of the innercylinder 35 and of the flannel 35. When the obstructing arms are intheir respective recesses a record may be freely inserted in and removedfrom the carton. However, when the disk 58 is turned in acounter-clockwise direction the rods 56 and 51 are each turned to movetheir respective arms 56" and 51" into inwardly extending or obstructingpositions (such as are shown in Figu're 7) wherein they are efiective tohold the record in the carton. Thus when the disk 53 is removed inclockwise and counterclockwise positions the carton is effectivelyopened and closed to the record. These respective positions of the disk50 may be designated by position oi an indicator 62, provided on the rimof the disk, relative to a scale 63 on the carton, such as is shown inFigure 8. Except for the manner of releasing the record from the cartonwhich release is effected by opening the carton in the manner abovedescribed-the use of the carton 41 is the same as that of the carton 33and need not be further explained.

Although I have herein shown and described certain preferred embodimentsof my invention it will be understood that these embodiments are merelyillustrative of my invention and not limitative thereof since theembodiments herein shown and described are subject to many changes andmodifications Without departure from the scope of my invention, which Iundertake to eX- press according to the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a phonograph comprising a record-supporting mandrel having a freeend by way of which a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon andremoved therefrom: the combination of a carriage movable along saidmandrel; a record holder adapted to be passed over said mandrel both toplace a record into a mounted position relative to the mandrel and topick up a mounted record upon the removal of the same from the mandrel;and means, associated with said carriage and operated by the recordholder in the passing of the same over said mandrel, for causing saidcarriage to be moved along the mandrel.

2. In a phonograph comprising a record-supporting mandrel having a freeend by way of which a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon andremoved therefrom: the combination of a carriage for a translating meansof the phonograph, movable along said mandrel between start and terminalpositions; an open-ended container for holding the record during recordmounting and record removal, said container being passed over saidmandrel to place the record in mounted position and being also passedover the mandrel to pick up a mounted record upon the removal of thesame from the mandrel; and means impinged upon by said container whenthe latter is passed over said mandrel to cause said carriage to bereturned to start position.

3. In a phonograph comprising a record-supporting mandrel having a freeend by way of which a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon andremoved therefrom: the combination of a carriage for a translating meansof the .phenograph, movable along said mandrel between a start positionand a terminal position at the free end of said mandrel; an open-endedcontainer for holding the record during record mounting and recordremoval, said container being passed over said mandrel both to place therecord in mounted position and to pick up the record from mountedposition upon record removal; and a member on said carriage, projectinginto the path of the passing of said container over said mandrel, forcausing said carriage to be returned to start position by theimpingement of said container upon said member.

4. In a phonograph comprising a record-supporting mandrel having a freeend by way of which a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon andremoved therefrom: the combination of a carriage movable along saidmandrel; an openended container for holding the record during recordmounting and record removal, said container being passed over saidmandrel to place the record in mounted position and being also passedover the mandrel to pick up a mounted record upon the removal of thesame from the mandrel; and means, adjustably connected with saidcarriage and impinged upon by said container when the same is passedover said mandrel,

for causing a predetermined movement of said carriage.

5. In a phonograph having a mandrel on and from which a record may bemounted and removed: the combination of a carriage movable along saidmandrel; an open-ended carton for holding a record during recordmounting and record removal, said carton being telescoped over saidmandrel to place a record in mounted position and also to pick up amounted record upon the removal of the same from the mandrel; and meanson said carriage impinged upon by the edge of the carton at its open endwhen the carton is telescoped over the mandrel to cause the carriage tobe moved along the mandrel.

6. In a phonograph comprising a mandrel having a free end by way ofwhich a record may be mounted thereon and removed therefrom: thecombination of an open-ended container for a record including meansoutside the bore of a contained record for yieldably retaining therecord therein, said container being adapted to be passed over saidmandrel to place the record in mounted position and to be passed oversaid mandrel to pick up the mounted record when the record is removedfrom the mandrel; and means on the mandrel operated by the recordincidental to the placing of the record in mounted position for holdingthe record on the mandrel, said holding means providing a retainingforce on the record in excess of that of said retaining means of thecontainer to cause the record to be held positively in mounted positionagainst the retaining force exerted on the record by the container whenthe container is removed from the mandrel.

7 In a phonograph comprising a mandrel having a free end by way of whicha record may be mounted thereon and removed therefrom: the combinationof a manually operable record ejector at the free end of said mandrel;and an open-ended container for a record including means manipulatableto hold the record in and to release the same from the container, saidcontainer being passed over said mandrel to place the record in mountedposition and also being passed over the mandrel to pick up the mountedrecord when the record is removed from the mandrel, the base of saidcontainer having an opening to expose said ejector when the container isin position to pick up the record from the mandrel and saidmanipulatable means being positioned on the base portion of thecontainer so as to render said ejector and manipulatable meanssimultaneously operable, when the container is in position to pick upthe record, by a single manipulation of the hand.

8. In a phonograph comprising a mandrel having a free end by way ofwhich a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon and removed therefrom:the combination of an open-ended record container adapted to be passedover said mandrel both to place a record into a mounted positionrelative to the mandrel and to pick up a mounted record upon the removalof the same from the mandrel, said container including means effectiveto yieldably retain a record therewithin, said retaining means beingdisposed at the open end of the container in position to permit freepassing of the container over the mandrel; and means at the free end ofsaid mandrel controllable to apply to the record a retaining forcepredominating over that of the retaining means of said container wherebyto cause the record to be positively held on the mandrel when thecontainer is removed from the mandrel subsequent to record mounting.

9. In a phonograph comprising a mandrel having a free end by way ofwhich a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon and removed therefrom:the combination of a record holder adapted to be passed over' saidmandrel both to place a record into a mounted position relative to themandrel and to pick up a mounted record upon the removal of the samefrom the mandrel; means, associated with said holder and having a pathof movement at least partially outside the central bore of a recordsupported by said holder, for yieldably retaining a record in theholder; and a. record retaining means on said' mandrel predomin'atingover the record retaining means of said holder and rendered effective bythe record incidental to record mounting.

10. In a phonograph comprising a mandrel having a free end by way ofwhich a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon and removed therefrom:the combination of a record holder adapted to be passed over saidmandrel both to place a record into a mounted position relative to themandrel and to pick up a mounted record upon the removal of the samefrom the mandrel; means for yieldably retaining a record on the holder,positioned on the holder outside the bore of a retained record; andrecord-retaning means on said mandrel operable to exert on the record aretaining force predominating over that of the retaining means of theholder.

11. In a phonograph comprising a mandrel having afree end by way ofwhich a cylindrical record may be mounted thereon and removed therefrom:the combination of releasable means for holding a record in mountedposition relative to said mandrel including a manipulatable controlmember; an open-ended container for a record having a restricted openingin its base and adapted to be passed over said mandrel both to place arecord in mounted position and to pick up 'a mounted record upon theremoval of the same from the mandrel; and releasable means on saidcontainer for holding a record therewithin also including amanipulatable control member, said first-mentioned control member beingmounted on the free end of the mandrel in position to project throughsaid restricted opening in the base of the container as the container ispassed over the mandrel, and said second-mentioned control member beingmounted on the base portion of said container so as to be injuxtaposition with said first-mentioned control member when thecontainer is over the mandrel.

LOUIS' Z. LA FOREST.

